This invention relates to progressive gaming systems, and more particularly relates to dispersal of progressive link amounts upon removal of a progressive link.
Gaming machines, such as slot machines, fruit machines, or poker machines, have in recent years become one of the more popular, exciting, and sophisticated wagering activities available at casinos and other gambling locations. At the same time, gaming machines have also become a source of greater revenue for gaming establishments. Thus, competition between manufacturers of gaming machines has intensified as competitors vie for business from gaming establishments.
A large gaming casino typically employs thousands of gaming machines that can be operated simultaneously. These gaming machines can be used to simultaneously play multiple games using multiple progressive jackpots as rewards. For example, a first group of users simultaneously may be playing a first group of gaming machines employing a first progressive link at a single gaming facility or multiple gaming facilities, while a second group of users simultaneously may be playing a second group of gaming machines employing a second progressive link at the one or more facilities. Typically, the gaming machines include coin meters that generate data used to calculate the progressive amounts. The data is transmitted from each gaming machine and each gaming location to a progressive server at a remote or local location, which may receive a large amount of data, including jackpot data, during a short time period. In addition, each progressive typically uses a separate link with one or more levels. This results in additional expense to install and maintain the multiple links and communication lines.
A gaming system providing entertaining and enticing features for players would be highly desirable to attract both new and returning players to a gaming establishment. Additionally, a progressive or other gaming system that allows customization and dynamic modification by an operator would be highly desirable to provide new features to customers. Current gaming machines are difficult to reconfigure and offer the same game to multiple users at multiple gaming establishments. Certain games may become old or unattractive to players and need updating or replacing. When one or more progressive links or levels are shut down, money collected in one or more levels of a progressive link must be distributed. Currently, an excess amount collected above a base amount is manually counted. A casino employee manually records (i.e., writes down) the excess number. Then, the employee determines which other progressive link(s) should receive the excess amount(s). The employee manually accesses a workstation for the particular link(s) and manually updates the progressive amounts accordingly. Such manual, employee-intensive tasks are time-consuming and inefficient. Thus, an improved system and method for removing progressive links and updating or dispersing progressive amounts would be highly desirable.
Additionally, manual reconfiguration of a gaming machine or progressive link by a human operator raises concerns regarding security of data and integrity of a game on the gaming machine. That is, gaming establishments and legal authorities place high priority on the integrity of a game, such as a slot or poker game. Thus, there is a need for a configurable system that does not disturb sensitive game or prize data and reduces possibility for human error in gaming configuration.
Thus, there is a need for a configuration and control system and method for a gaming environment that allows one or more progressive links to be modified and one or more progressive amounts dispersed.